The North Sea windfall tax has been sharply in focus again over the last week.

Major players in the territory are banging their drums loudly against the windfall tax or, to give it the official name, the energy profits levy.

This tax was introduced by the Conservatives, although Labour did raise it last autumn from 35% to 38%. This has brought the headline rate of tax on upstream oil and gas activities to 78%.

EnQuest chief executive Amjad Bseisu’s comments at this oil and gas company’s annual meeting last week were very much in line with the remarks of Serica Energy’s chairman, David Latin, just days earlier.

Mr Bseisu declared: “The recent stepdown in commodity prices has further amplified calls for the UK Government to remove the energy profits levy and return the North Sea to a position of global competitiveness. The status quo, which sees the UK as the only country levying a windfall tax on homegrown energy producers, where no windfall profits exist, is resulting in irreversible damage to this strategic national industry and is driving job losses across the sector.”

On May 22, Mr Latin had declared: “Current commodity prices very clearly do not represent windfall conditions, and the tax rate of 78% is entirely inappropriate at a time when the Government should be doing everything in its power to boost vital energy security and to support........

© Herald Scotland